Artisanal fishing boats in Seychelles

Item Type Report

Authors Payet, R.J.

Publisher Seychelles Fishing Authority

Download date 30/09/2021 16:02:20

Item License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/1834/5123 Artisanal Fishing Boats in Seychelles SFA/R&D/041

Artisanal Fishing Boats in Seychelles

Rondolph Payet Seychelles Fishing Authority October 1996 Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles

Acknowledgements

This evaluation report has been made possible thanks to the contribution made by: • All the Fisheries Tecnicians involved: Godfrey Faure and Roby Gabriel. Samuel Pool for creating the Data Entry Program • All boat owners and fishermen who co-operate with the SFA in obtaining the necessary information.

II Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles

Table of contents

1. INTRODUCTION...... 1

2. HISTORY...... 2

3. METHODOLOGY ...... 2

4. THE ARTISANAL FISHING FLEET: BOAT SURVEY DATA ...... 5

4.1 FISHING METHODS...... 8 4.2 PIROGUES ...... 9 4.3 WOODEN BOAT WITHOUT OUTBOARD ...... 10 4.4 MINI MAHE...... 11 4.5 OPEN WHALER ...... 12 4.6 WHALER WITH DECK...... 12 4.7 LEKONOMI ...... 13 4.8 LAVENIR ...... 14 4.9 NOUVO LAVENIR ...... 15 4.10 SCHOONERS ...... 15 4.11 SEMI-INDUSTRIAL ...... 16 5. ENGINE MAKE ...... 17

6. DISCUSSION OF BOAT CENSUS DATA ...... 18

7. ANALYSIS OF HISTORICAL DATA (CAS) ...... 19

8. REFERENCES...... 25

III Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles

Abstract

The results of a census of fishing boats on Mahe, Praslin and La Digue are presented. In total 437 boats were counted of which 278 were outboards with engine, 48 were open whaler, 35 were pirogues, 25 were Lekonomi, 22 were schooners, 11 were semi- industrial so were lavenir, 12 were ‘others’, 8 were whaler with deck, 4 were Nouvo lavenir and 3 were wooden boats without engines. The details are discussed to understand the characteristics of the artisanal fishing boats.

An analysis of the historical data follows. The number of pirogues and schooners decreased from 1985 to 1995, whilst the number of whalers have increased. Outboards on the other hand had remain relatively stable. The changes in the number of boats are a result of interaction between the available near shore and offshore fishery resource and the develpoment of commercial opportunities, social and economic constrains and the effects of the fisheries policies.

IV

Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles

1. Introduction

Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) conducts a Catch Assessment Survey (CAS) on the 3 main granitic islands: Mahe, Praslin and La Digue. The purpose of the survey is to document fish catches by the artisanal fishing fleet. It is based upon a statistical frame (The boat-frame) which describes the boats and gears employed. The CAS is designed in such a way that the frame is automatically updated at most important sites. However, secondary sites are less frequently visited and less detailed information are gathered.

SFA in the past has conducted two similar surveys; 1987 (undocumented) and Mees (1989). Mees (1989) results showed a total of 595 fishing boats 156 inactive, and 439 active fishing boats of which there were 156 pirogues, 196 outboards, 68 whalers and 19 schooners.

The present report updates and provides a detailed description of the Seychelles artisanal fishery fleet.

1 Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles

2. History

Seychelles was not populated until the eighteenth century. Fishing for demersal and semi-pelagic species was confined to coastal areas near centres of population and today is concentrated around granitic islands and expanding offshore as fishing pressure increases inshore. The coralline islands are sparsely inhabited and local exploitation will have minimal impact (MRAG, 1996). Seychelles schooner fishery is relatively recent, dating back to 1974, to allow fishing on the offshore banks and periphery of Mahe and Amirantes Plateau. Foreign mothership-dory operations were licensed to fish in the Amirantes, Cosmoledo and Providence and Farquhar between 1974-1977. From the mid 1980’s the whalers have increasingly targeted demersal fishery and development in the schooner fishery since that time have resulted in more efficient vessels with greater range and improved means of exploiting the demersal resources.

Mees (1989) describes the fleet structure. Briefly, the number of outboards and pirogues have decreased with time but the policy of promoting inboard powered vessels led to considerable increases in the number of whalers rather than schooners. MRAG (1996) indicated that this shifted fishing pressure from coastal reefs slightly but did not achieve the objective of increasing effort at more distant fishing grounds, in fact causing an increase in fishing pressure in the near-shore areas. The introduction of the new La Digue vessels in 1991 was not entirely successful and the promotion of the offshore demersal fisheries remains a problem due to socio-economic and technological factors. The Cygnus vessels being the latest attempt (1994) to address the problem, however, are experiencing certain mechanical problems.

3. Methodology

A survey of fishing boats occurring on the islands of Mahe, Praslin and La Digue was conducted from March to June 1996. The landing sites are described as East Mahe, North East Mahe, West Mahe, North West Mahe, North East Praslin, North West Praslin and La Digue.

Boat types in the survey were as follows:

2 Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles

• Pirogue Traditional wooden vessel used with oars or like a punt. • Wooden boat without outboard These are wooden boats, that resemble pirogues • Mini Mahe with outboard Vessels (approximately 16 ft) with a fibre glass hull powered by an outboard motor (5-40Hp). They were first produced in Seychelles in 1971. In 1985 the Fisheries Policy discouraged the use of outboards motors and encouraged inboards engines, and a decision was made not to grant further loans for mini-Mahe and out boards except under exceptional circumstances. • Lekonomi Lekonomi are simulated clinker vessels constructed in fibreglass 6.5 metres long with round bilge transom stern, and a small forward cabin with three bunks. They are fitted with a sloop ring and a mid-ship ice box, and equipped with a 13 Hp cylinder Yanmar water-cooled engine. Production started in 1988. The objective of introducing the lekonomi was to allow it to slowly replace the existing Mini Mahes, this has not however, been the case. • Whaler with deck Traditional wooden clinker constructed boats with inboard engines. They are partially decked for the purpose of accommodating the crew. • Open whaler Traditional wooden clinker constructed vessels (range from 25 to 35 ft) with inboard engines which have been in operation since the early sixties. They are undecked but may have a small fore-deck for storage. Whalers are utilised mainly for daily fishing trips and carry a crew of about seven fishermen. In recent years some whaler have also being equipped with icebox to do overnight trips. The boats are equipped with a 2 cylinder diesel engine. • Lavenir Lavenir are 8.75m fibreglass boats with a round bilge and transom at the stern. There is a small forward cabin with 4 bunks and a large cockpit athwartships with an ice- box and are equipped with a two cylinder 27 Hp engine. They usually employ handline and fish with a crew of 3. Construction began in 1988. • Nouvo Lavenir

3 Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles

A lavenir extended in length and modified primarily to increase fishhold capacity and fishermen comfort and sea worthiness.

• Schooner

The fishing schooner is a wooden hull decked vessel usually 10 to 13 metres long and equipped with a three cylinder diesel engine. Schooner are usually manned by a crew of three to five and they usually fish the banks and the periphery of the Mahe plateau and the Amirantes. They do trips up to ten days and have an icebox capacity of two to three tonnes. A variety of designes exist.

• Semi-industrial

This constitutes of the multi-purpose Cygnus vessels, Etelis, St.Michel, Taurus and the five longline vessels. Usually the vessels are over 12 metres.

• Others

This category are vessels not specifically defined in the Boat Survey(any other). This includes aluminium boats wooden boats with outboards or any other modified vessels.

The survey did not enumerate the number of Foot fishermen and those managed by the Seychelles Fishing Authority. However, the survey may have included to a minor extent certain inactive fishing boats. The degree of fishing activity was defined as; Full Time: The boat goes out fishing from three or more days each week; Part Time: Any day trip boat making less than three trips per week and No information : for a boat where its status could not be established.

4 Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles

4. The Artisanal Fishing Fleet: Boat Survey data

In total 457 fishing boats were counted for Mahe, Praslin and La Digue. This compares with 360 boats operating during 1995, calculated from the mean number observed each month (Table 2). Data indicating the number of boats from the Boat Frame (CAS) and boats census compares favourably. Differences can be explained by :

• data from the secondary sites are not updated in the boat frame. • the number of boats operating on a monthly basis fluctuates. The number of boat types per strata is indicated in table 1.

Table 1: Summary of boat details.

E.Mahe N.E W.Mahe N.W N.E N.W La Digue Total Mahe Mahe Praslin Praslin Ekonomi 2 9 5 8 1 0 0 25 Lavenir 0 8 1 0 2 0 0 11 Nouvo Lavenir 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 4 Mini Mahe 41 45 45 43 55 14 35 278 Pirogue 9 2 5 3 15 0 1 35 Schooner 0 18 1 0 3 0 0 22 Whaler /Deck 1 4 2 1 0 0 0 8 Open Whaler 7 30 6 1 2 0 2 48 Wooden Boat /no 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 engine Others 3 1 3 1 3 0 1 12 Semi-industrial 0 11 0 0 0 0 0 11 Total 64 131 69 58 82 14 39 457

The greatest number of artisanal fishing boats are mini-Mahe with outboards (278) and open whaler (48). Followed by pirogues (35), Lekonomi (25), schooners (22), others (12), Lavenir (11), Semi-industrial (11), Whaler with deck, (8), Nouvo Lavenir (4) and wooden boat without engine (3). Most boats are located on Mahe (320 or 70%), then Praslin (96 or 21%) and La Digue (39 or 9%). In relation to population size the greatest density of boats occur on La Digue (population 1,990, 1 boat per 51.03 people), then Praslin (population 5,722, 1 boat per 59.6 people), and Mahe (population 66,134, 1 boat per 206.6 people) but most boats on La Digue are small boats and have a lesser fishing power to those located on Mahe. The total population of Seychelles was 74,331 in 1994 of which 199 were living on Silhouette and 286 on the outer islands. The present survey

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Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles did not enumerate the fishing boats on the outer islands however, since their population represents only 0.65% of total, the boats numbers are likely to be equally small. The geographical distribution of the boats enumerated in the survey is indicated in Figure 2, 3 and 4 .

Table 2: Historical data (boat in operation) from the Catch Assessment Survey (CAS).

1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 Pirogues 125 162 148 135 117 85 82 87 73 42 42 Outboards 222 209 182 180 171 176 203 198 202 182 189 Whaler 37 53 60 70 81 86 90 95 94 95 92 Schooner 21 21 24 21 16 16 21 13 9 9 11 Longline 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 Sport 7 5 5 4 4 7 6 6 1 0 0 Total 412 450 419 410 390 370 402 399 379 328 337

Data from the CAS relating to the number of boats on Mahe, Praslin and La Digue are available since July 1985. During the 12 year period the number of boats rose from 419 in 1987 to 402 in 1991 and declining thereafter to the present levels fluctuating slightly. Pirogues followed a decreasing trend. Outboards decreased from a peak (222) in 1985 due to changes in the Fisheries Policy, but increased after 1990 (203) and stabilising thereafter. Schooners showed a continuous decline, whilst whalers showed an increase, though relatively stable. It is important to note that the survey categorised these boats in more detail compared to the CAS.

4.1 Fishing Methods

Table 2 illustrates the gear types employed by the different boats. Its seems that gear changeability is common across the vessels spectrum. This is a consequence primarily the weather conditions (SE and NE trade winds).

Lekonomi utilises either handline, diving, net or trap. Handline is however, common to all lekonomi. Lavenir and Nouvo lavenir use solely handline. Mini Mahe shows the highest degree of interchangeability of gear to suit the conditions. Handline was the

8 Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles most common method, followed by trap, then gill netting (shark or mackerel) and diving (during lobster fishing season and octopus) and crab. Pirogues utilise mainly handline and trap, but are also engaged in diving and net fishing (beach seine) to suit the prevailing conditions. Schooner utilised handline almost exclusively with the odd one changing to crab or gillnetting. Whaler with deck utilise solely handline, whilst, open whaler though uses handline as the main method do switch to net and crab fishing. Wooden boat without outboard fished inside the reef, thus handline and trap are as expected. Semi-industrial vessels utilised handline, dropline and longlining and crab with some degree of changeability in gear. These vessels are specialised and purposely built to fish the targeted species. ‘Others’ category are vessels not defined in the boat survey thus fishing methods utilised vary.

To summarise, the degree of changeability of gear decreases as boat sizes increase; that is, boats become more specialised and target a particular species. In addition, handline is the most common fishing method across the boat spectrum .

Table 3: Gear types employed by boats.

Crab Diving Dropline Handline Longline Net Onfoot Trap Lekonomi 0 3 0 25 0 1 0 1 Lavenir 0 0 0 11 0 0 0 0 Nouvo-Lavenir 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 Mini Mahe 1 32 0 251 0 32 0 124 Pirogue 0 6 0 28 0 7 0 27 Schooner 1 0 0 21 0 1 0 0 Whaler/deck 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 0 Open whaler 0 1 0 48 0 0 0 3 wooden/no engine 0 0 0 2 - 0 0 3 Others 1 2 0 14 0 1 0 4 Semi industial 2 0 4 4 4 1 0 0

4.2 Pirogues Table 4 indicates the results of the boat survey in relation to pirogues. 35 boats were counted of which 19 (54.3%) were found on Mahe, 15 (42.8%) on Praslin and 1 (2.9%) on La Digue. Relative to the population size the number of pirogues was higher on

9 Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles

Praslin than elsewhere. A greater number of pirogues were part-time (21) than were full time (12). Most were traditional pirogues (82.8%) or wooden boats. However, there was 1 pirogue constructed entirely out of fibreglass, 3 made of wood combined with fibreglass and 1 of steel. Non of the pirogues employed an ice box. Fishing range of pirogues are usually between 1 to 10 miles.

Table 4: Pirogues survey details.

Mahe Praslin La Digue Total Total boats 19 15 1 35 Construction Fibre Glass 1 1 0 2 Steel 0 1 0 1 Wood 15 13 1 29 Wood &Fibre glass 3 0 0 3 Activity Full time 8 5 0 12 Part time 10 10 1 21 Ice Box Yes No Engine : Horse power. Range 1-3 mile 1-10 miles 1-3 miles

4.3 Wooden boat without outboard

Table 5 indicates the results relating to wooden boats without outboard. A total of 3 boats were counted, 2 located on Mahe and 1 on Praslin. As its name describes it is made of wood and uses paddles or like a punt as means of propulsion. Only 2 boats are engaged in full time fishing activities. Their fishing range is restricted to less than 3 miles and thus operates solely in the lagoon.

Table 5: Wooden boat without out board

Mahe Praslin La Digue Total Total boats 2 1 3 Construction Fibre Glass Steel Wood 2 1 3 Wood &Fibre glass

10 Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles

Activity Full time 1 1 2 Part time 1 1 Ice Box Yes No 2 1 3 Engine : Horse power. Range 1-3 miles 1-3 miles 1-3 miles

4.4 Mini Mahe Table 6 indicates the details relating to Mini Mahe. A total of 278 boats were counted of which 174 (62.8%) are located on Mahe, 69 (24.8%) on Praslin and 35 (12.6%) on La Digue. Most are engaged in full time fishing activity (59.5%) and that applies for all the islands.

Table 6: Survey details for Mini Mahe.

Mahe Praslin La Digue Total Total boats 174 69 35 278 Construction Fibre Glass 170 69 35 274 Steel 1 0 0 1 Wood 2 0 0 2 Wood & Fibre glass 1 0 0 1 Activity Full time 112 29 19 160 Part time 57 36 16 Ice Box Yes 4 0 0 4 No 170 67 35 272 Engine : Horse power. 5-15 6 9 0 15 16-25 133 56 33 222 26-50 26 3 2 31 > 50 0 0 0 0 Range 1->30 miles 1- >30miles 1- >30 miles

Fibreglass was the most common construction material - 98.6% of the boats. The remainder were constructed of steel, wood, and wood and fibreglass. The most common engine size were in the range 16-25 Hp. (81.6 %), followed by engines in the range 26- 50 Hp.(11.4%). The fishing range is extended to over 30 miles and this partly explains the high variability in the fishing methods utilised.

11 Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles

4.5 Open Whaler

Table 7: Survey details for Open Whaler.

Mahe Praslin La Digue Total Total boats 44 2 2 48 Construction Fibre Glass 3 0 0 3 Steel 0 0 0 0 Wood 32 1 2 35 Wood &Fibre glass 9 1 0 10 Activity Full time 43 2 2 47 Part time 0 0 0 0 Ice Box Yes 42 1 2 45 No 1 1 0 2 Engine Horse power. 5-15 5 1 0 16-25 0 0 0 25-50 35 0 2 >50 1 0 0 Range 10->30 mile 10->30 mile 10->30 miles

The results of the survey relating to traditional open whaler are presented in table 7. A total of 48 boats were counted. 44 (91.6%) open whalers occured on Mahe - and 62.5% of these are located in Victoria (N.E Mahe) alone - 4.2% occured on both Praslin and La Digue. All the boats are engaged in full time fishing activity and that applies for all the islands.

Most were constructed from wood (73%), except for two constructed of fibreglass. 10 open whalers were recorded as being constructed of wood and fibreglass however, this might be a result of an attempt to repair them.

All open whalers were equipped with an inboard engine. Not being visible little detail was obtained on engine size but they are generally in the range 20-37 Hp. In fact 77.1% of the engines were in the range 26 -50 Hp.

4.6 Whaler with deck

Table 6: Survey details for Whaler with deck.

12 Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles

Mahe Praslin La Digue Total Total boats 7 1 0 8 Construction Fibre Glass 4 4 Steel 0 Wood 3 1 4 Wood &Fibre glass Activity Full time 7 1 8 Part time Ice Box Yes 7 1 8 No 0 Engine : Horse power. 5-15 0 1 16-25 0 0 26-50 5 0 >50 2 0 Range >30 miles >30 miles

Table 6 indicates the details relating to whaler with deck. Most of the boats were located on Mahe - 7 (87.5%) with 1 (12.5%) on Praslin. All are engaged in full time fishing activities.

4 “whaler with deck” were constructed of wood and the others of fibreglass. Whaler with deck are modified open whalers, as a result they have increased their fishing distances and days spent at sea. All decked whalers are equipped with inboard engines and the engine sizes are usually in the same range as that of the open whaler. Most engines are in the range of 26-50 Hp except for 1 (5-15 Hp) and 2 above 50 Hp. Fishing range extends to over 30 miles.

4.7 Lekonomi

Table 7 details the information relating to Lekonomi. The boat survey counted 25 boats. 96% of the Lekonomi were located on Mahe and 4 % on Praslin. Except for two boats on Mahe, they are all engaged in full time fishing activities. Most engine size were in the range 5-15 Hp (95.8 %) and 1 in the range 26-50 Hp. Fishing range extends from 10 to 30 miles. Except for one boat on Mahe, all had ice boxes and that applies for all the islands. Table 7: Survey details for Lekonomi.

13 Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles

Mahe Praslin La Digue Total Total boats 24 1 0 25 Construction Fibre Glass 24 1 25 Steel Wood Wood &Fibre glass Activity Full time 21 1 23 Part time 2 2 Ice Box Yes 23 1 24 No 1 1 Engine : Horse power. 5-15 22 1 16-25 0 0 26-50 1 0 >50 No information 1 Range 10-30 miles 10-30 miles 10-30 miles

4.8 Lavenir Table 8 details the information relating to Lavenir. 11 boats were counted - 9 located on Mahe and 2 on Praslin. Compared to the 1989 survey this has increased by 7 . All the boats were constructed from fibreglass and include an ice box. All are engaged in full time fishing activities. The engine sizes are in the range of 27 to 39 Hp inboard engines and fishing range is over 30 miles.

Table 8: Survey details for Lavenir

Mahe Praslin La Digue Total Total boats 9 2 11 Construction Fibre Glass 9 2 11 Steel Wood Wood & Fibre glass Activity Full time 9 2 11 Part time Ice Box Yes 9 2 11 No

14 Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles

Engine : Horse power. 26-50 9 2 >50 Range > 30 miles > 30 miles > 30 miles

4.9 Nouvo Lavenir

Table 9: Survey details for Nouvo Lavenir

Mahe Praslin La Digue Total Total boats 4 4 Construction Fibre Glass 4 4 Steel Wood Wood &Fibre glass Activity Full time 4 4 Part time Ice Box Yes 4 4 No Engine : Horse power. 26-50 2 >50 2 Range > 30 miles

Table 8 indicates the results relating to Nouvo Lavenir. The survey only counted 4 boats all located on Mahe and constructed of fibreglass. They are engaged in full time fishing activities and have ice boxes with their fishing range over 30 miles. Engine size ranges from 26-50 Hp (50%) and >50 Hp (50%).

4.10 Schooners Table 9 details the results relating to schooners. The history of the Schooner fleet is described briefly in Parker (1988). 22 schooners were counted and probably this includes non-active boats, since the CAS recorded only 11 (mean number of boats per month) in 1995. All Schooners are engaged in full time fishing activities. Apart from 3 on Praslin, all schooners operate from Port Victoria. The engine size ranges from 26-50 Hp (68.2%) and 18.2 % over 50 Hp. Some uses a combination of sail and engine. All are equipped with ice boxes of 2 to 3 tonnes.

Table 9: Survey details for Schooners

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Mahe Praslin La Digue Total Total boats 19 3 22 Construction Fibre Glass 4 4 Steel Wood 15 2 17 Wood &Fibre glass 1 1 Activity Full time 19 3 22 Part time Ice Box Yes 19 3 22 No Engine : Horse power. 16-25 0 26-50 14 1 >50 4 0 No information 3 Range > 30 miles > 30 miles > 30 miles

4.11 Semi-industrial In total 11 semi-industrial boats were counted. Steel and fibreglass construction was common among the vessels. Longline vessels are constructed of steel, whilst the cygnus vessels, St Michel and Etelis are of fibreglass. Taurus, a La Digue-made boat was constructed of wood. All had inboard engines ranging from 145 Hp to 500 Hp. Cygnus vessels utilise almost exclusively dropline and gillnetting , the latter being no longer used. The most recent are the longline vessels fishing for swordfish and tunas. Fishing range extends over 30 miles.

Figure 10: Survey details for semi-industrial

Mahe Praslin La Digue Total Total boats 11 0 0 11 Construction Fibre Glass 5 5 Steel 5 5 Wood 1 1 Wood &Fibre glass Activity Full time 11 11 Part time Ice Box Yes 11 11 No Engine : Horse power. 145-500 Hp Range over 30 miles

16 Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles

Table 11: Survey details for “Others”

Mahe Praslin La Digue Total Total boats 8 3 1 12 Construction Fibre Glass 5 1 6 Steel Wood 1 3 4 Wood &Fibre glass 1 1 Activity Full time 3 1 1 5 Part time 5 2 7 Ice Box Yes 3 3 No 5 2 1 8 Engine : Horse power. 3 1 6-15 1 16-25 4 >50 Range 3->30 miles 1-3 miles 20 miles

Table 11 details the information relating to ‘others’.

5. Engine make

17 Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles

160

140

120

100

80 er of engine b 60

Num 40

20

0 Yamaha To Yamaha-K Yanmar Johnson Suzuki Suzuki-K Perkin Mitsubishi Bea Fiat Mariner Ford Iveco Evimrude Seagull Liste Bod Po yand hatsu u w r d in o uin

Engine make

Figure 2: Engine Make of the artisanal fishing fleet.

Figure 3 shows that the most common used engine are Yamaha (36.6%),Yanmar (26.2%), Tohatsu (20.3%), and Yamaha-Kerosene (9.6%). In total there are 19 different engine make in the Seychelles Artisanal fishing fleet. No information was obtained for 31 vessels; excluding pirogues and wooden boats without engine.

6. Discussion of boat census data

The present survey has usefully recorded the number of boats on Mahe, Praslin and La Digue and has provided information on the characteristics of the artisanal fishing fleet. It is impossible to correlate this information to the Catch Assessment Survey (CAS) since different categories were used. No information was obtained on the number of inactive boats.

License Numbers: In theory all commercial fishing boats are required to be licensed. In practice this is not the case. The execution of not only the CAS but also other monitoring activities conducted by SFA would be greatly simplified if this requirement were to be enforced. Ice boxes: These are a necessity for larger boats undertaking trips of several days. However, even on trips of only few hours duration considerable deterioration of fish is known to occur if they are not iced. It is important to encourage the use of ice in

18 Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles outboards and whalers so as to provide a better value product and possibly increase returns to fishermen.

It is recommended that such survey is conducted at least every two years to allow better management of the artisanal fishing fleet and further our knowledge on the fishing fleet dynamics.

7. Analysis of Historical data (CAS)

Yearly data from the Catch Assessment Survey (CAS) relating to the number of boats on Mahe, Praslin and La Digue is available since 1985. Data from 1985 to 1995 is shown in Table 2.

19 Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles

Table 12: Unweighted least squares linear regression of number of boats Vs time (1985- 1995) for Mahe, Praslin and La Digue.

Boat Coefficient - R St. Error P-Value Result Outboard 0.00495 7.68 0.829 No significant increase Pirogue -0.03509 0.0219 0.061 No significant decrease Schooner -0.09432 0.0994 0.379 No significant decrease Whaler 0.07834 0.0296 0.038 Significant increase Total -9.027 1.94 0.001 Significant decrease

Regression analyses conducted on the data represented in Table 2 indicates that there was no significant increase in the number of outboards and no significant decrease in the number of schooners and pirogues. However, whalers showed a significant increase. Overall there has been a significant decrease in the number of vessels. Scatter plots of yearly data (figure 2 to 6) illustrates the trends.

Vessel category definitions used in the CAS

Pirogues: A boat without or with an outboard engine of less than or equal to 15 Hp. Outboard: A boat with an outboard engine greater than 15 Hp. Whaler/Inboard: An undecked or partially decked boat with an inboard engine. Schooner: A fully decked boat with an inboard engine.

20 Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles

500 470 y = -9.0273x + 18355 440 R2 = 0.7047 410 380 350 320 290

Total Number of Boats 260 230 200 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 Year

Figure 3: Scatter plot for total number of boats

180 160 y = -11.373x + 22732 140 R2 = 0.8643 120 100

80 er of Pirogues b 60

Num 40 20 0 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 Year

Figure 4: Scatter plot for pirogues

21 Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles

250

200

150

er of outboard 100 b y = -1.3182x + 2815.4

Num 2 50 R = 0.0766

0 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 Year

Figure 5:Scatter plot for outboards.

120

100

80

60

y = 5.4909x - 10849 40 2

Number of Whaler R = 0.842 20

0 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 Year

Figure 6: Scatter plots for whaler

22 Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles

25

20

15

er of Schooner 10 b y = -1.4x + 2802.5 Num 5 R2 = 0.7365

0 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 Year

Figure 7: Scatter plot for schooner.

Prior to 1986 there were few controls over the artisanal fishery and it developed primarily to meet the demands of the local market, fuelled by the tourist industry. The development of Seychelles Marketing Board (SMB) Fish Division in 1984 at the fishing port to provide modern fish handling, processing, and storage facilities throughout Seychelles (SMB Collection Centres) increased the opportunities of the artisanal fishermen, however, these centres dissolved or sold/leased out to Fish Mongers in 1993- 1996.

Pirogues have decreased partly because of the fishing pressure on the inshore fishing grounds coulped with social and economic constrains; that is fishermen no longer find fishing in lagoons and inshore areas profitable. Though outboards have not increased significantly strict management (especially mini Mahe) is recommended. The policy of promoting inboard powered vessels have led to considerable increases in the number of whalers rather than schooner. Instead of shifting the fishing pressure at more distant fishing grounds, in fact caused the increase of fishing pressure in the near-shore locations. However, some whalers (decked), are increasingly fishing on the edge of the Mahe plateau, particular to the west and south-west close to Mahe. The decrease in the number of schooners is explained by the economic availabilty (Parker, 1988) and the fact that the existing fleet is aging and suffers considerable form of mechnical and structural

23 Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles fault. The stable, if not declining trend in numbers indicate the lack of new boats to replace those leaving the fishery. The new generation schooners ( Variola, Taurus, Verseau,) have not been taken up by the fishing sector the same way as the new whaler design (lavenir, Nouvo lavenir, whaler with deck, etc) have been adopted and Tarbit (1987) suggest that their high capital cost is unattractive given the fact that these designs have had little advantage over the existing fleet in their ability as fishing vessels. Bach (1988) also suggested that sociological factors are important in explaining the tendency for fishermen to readily take up the new designs whalers and not those of schooners. Although the Seychelles Government has had extremely favourable loan agreements to enable fishermen purchase larger vessels such as schooners, it has resulted in the opposite, an increase in whalers.

In addition to the effect of increased commercial opportunities and fishery policy, the state of exploitation of available resources will also affect boat numbers.

24 Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles

8. References

Anon, (1995). Seychelles Artisanal Fisheries statistics for 1995, SFA/R&D/039, 89pp.

Bach, P. (1988) Activites des embarcation impliquees dans la pêche a la ligne à main aux Seychelles, SFA/R&D/010, 25pp.

Mees, C. C. (1989). Artisanal Fishing Boats of Seychelles, SFA/R&D/011, 49pp.

MRAG, (1996). The Status of Seychelles Demersal Fishery Technical Report. ODA Fish Management Programme - The Management of Tropical Multi-Fisheries Project, R5484, 261pp.

Parker, D. (1988). The Future of the Schooner Fishery problem of financial viability and recruitment of fishermen. SFA, 26pp.

Tarbit, J. (1987). Demersal Fisheries Development in Seychelles and the evaluation of new fishing vessels design and operating strategies. Consultancy Report, ODA.

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